Eileen Gu garners backlash for commenting on Trump's statement while representing China

Jasmine Jones, a U.S. Olympian who also serves in the Air Force, spoke about the pride that comes with representing her country on the world stage. (Fox News Digital)

American-born Team China Olympic skier Eileen Gu came under immense scrutiny on social media this week after making comments about President Donald Trump's recent criticism of U.S. Olympian Hunter Hess.

Gu, who was born in San Francisco, is the highest-paid Winter Olympic athlete in the world, making an estimated $23 million in 2025 alone amid partnerships with Chinese companies, including the Bank of China, and western companies. Gu has said she represents China for her mother, who was born there.

Gu has never spoken out publicly against China's alleged human rights abuses, including the nation's alleged systematic campaign of repression against Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. 

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Gold medalist Eileen Gu of China celebrates during the medal ceremony for the women's freestyle skiing big air at the 2022 Winter Olympics Feb. 8, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

However, Gu has commented on Trump's criticism of Hess for expressing "mixed emotions" about representing the U.S. in Milan Cortina. 

"I’m sorry that the headline that is eclipsing the Olympics has to be something so unrelated to the spirit of the Games. It really runs contrary to everything the Olympics should be," Gu told reporters Monday.

"The whole point of sport is to bring people together. … One of the very few common languages, that of the human body, that of the human spirit, the competitive spirit, the capacity to break not only records, but especially in our